Easter Decor and Rossinis!

This is a fun one! 

I had a great time looking through Pinterest for decorating ideas. 

Here's a little recap of our Easter celebration:

I filled a vase with jelly beans and then used wooded kabob skewers at differing heights for the bunny peeps.

I used carrots in a vase to help prop up these blue hydrangeas.

I kept the carrot theme by wrapping green utensils in orange napkins. 

Party favors included little Lindt bunnies, plastic eggs filled with candy...

...these little nests with Cadbury milk chocolate eggs in them. I found the nests at Hobby Lobby.

You know that Christmas Crack candy I make...I made a slight adjustment for Easter: white chocolate, pink, yellow, and blue candy melts...and of course, sprinkles!

Now for the traditional Easter Rossinis!

This is Ina Garten's recipe:

What you need:

1 pint strawberries (hulled)

2 1/2 Tbsp simple syrup

1 tsp Grand Marnier

1 (750ml) bottle Prosecco (chilled)

What you do...

Puree strawberries in a blender.

Strain strawberry puree to remove seeds.

Add simple syrup and Grand Marnier, and marinate in fridge for 1 hour up to 24 hours.

When you add the Prosecco a chemical reaction occurs and it will bubble over quickly. Therefore, I use my large sangria pitcher. I pour strawberry mix in first, then add the Prosecco slowly. Stir and then serve.

I love celebrating Easter. Spring is a beautiful time of rebirth and renewal, but it is the original Resurrection Day that gives such hope to me.

I saw this video on Facebook recently, and it is moving. It reminded me again, why we celebrate.

The Lord is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

A Wee Green Quiche for St. Patrick's Day!

Asparagus, Spring Onion, & Feta- Hooray for Spring!

This quiche recipe was in the March 2016 issue of Southern Living. As an avid Bruncher, I decided this was a must try.

I made 1 modification- I purchased a frozen deep dish pie crust, rather than using a refrigerated pie crust in a spring form pan. As a result, you might want to lower the amount of mixtures inside as it wasn't quite deep enough to hold all of the ingredients. 

While all of the egg mix couldn't fit in, it did not lack in delicious flavor!

Here's what you need:

Frozen Deep Dish pie crust

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups thinly sliced spring onions

1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

3/4 tsp black pepper, divided

1 cup heavy cream

8 large eggs

2 Tbsp thinly sliced chives

2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

What to do:

Bake frozen pie crust according to package directions.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter over medium-high . Add onions and cook (stirring occasionally) until tender and lightly brown (about 10 mins). Stir in asparagus; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Remove from heat and cool 5 mins.

Whisk together cream, eggs, chives, parsley, nutmeg, and remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Place half of the onion mixture in the pie crust.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup feta.

Spoon half of cream mixture over feta.

Repeat layers once and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup feta.

* (If you are using a 14.1 oz refrigerated pie crust in a spring form pan, this should fit. If you are using a frozen deep dish pie crust like I did, all of this won't fit. Reducing the cream mixture ingredients slightly will help with this. We did, and it still tasted great!)

Bake until set, about 1 hour. Cool on baking rack for 20 minutes before serving.

I highly recommend serving this with a sweet cantaloupe. We did and the flavors were perfect together. The tartness of the asparagus and feta with the sweet, creamy of the melon...it was fantastic!

We have reheated this quiche for another quick breakfast since this brunch and it was just as wonderful as the first tasting.

So- here is a Wee Green Quiche for your St. Patrick's Day celebration!

Also- I found this little video about St. Patrick. It gives a brief history about the real man, and some of the myths surrounding him. 

Enjoy!

Sláinte! = Cheers! (in Irish Gaelic)

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Our Disney Fantasy Food & Drink Adventure!

It is usually very good for me to get somewhere warm and sunny during the winter.

To escape the wintertime blues we planned our cruise on the Disney Fantasy to get some much needed sun, sea, and sand at the end of February.

Be sure to try the Drink of the Day- we loved these Key Lime Margaritas!

Let's talk about the Food!

Dinner on the Disney Fantasy rotates between three restaurants: Royal Court, Enchanted Garden, and Animator's Palate.

This particular sailing included a Star Wars Day at sea complete with droids, storm troopers, and sand people. 

Star Wars Day at sea also included a special menu with nods to the different lands of Star Wars series.

 Of course the food and World Class Service of Disney are absolutely unparalleled. 

Shrimp with caviar on a cucumber salad.

Portabella Steak with sticky rice.

Pork medallions with potato cake and chorizo.

This macaroon duo was the Hubs favorite dessert!

Scallops with sundried tomato cous cous.

This beautiful fish fillet was covered in fennel and placed on a creamy dill dressing.

Appetizer trio: spicy shrimp, salmon pate', and thinly sliced chilled duck.

Dessert trio with a small sponge cake, creme brulee, and cheesecake.

The blue lighting gave the feel of being in ocean with Crush and Nemo at Animator's Palate. This dish was amazing: herb crusted pork chop on a sundried tomato risotto.

Chateaubriand

I highly recommend the wine tasting. With 3 whites and 3 reds, we received quite an education, and were able to taste a very diverse selection.  

Our favorite bars on ship? 

Without a doubt Meridian and Ooh La La.

Meridian is aft (the back of the ship) and has panoramic windows...or you can enjoy the sunset outside.

We also opted for the Champagne Brunch at Remy.

There is an additional charge for this, but it is simply a dinning experience!

Yes- I had my picture taken by the sign...We named our cat after this famous rat chef.

Lobster and shrimp wrapped in mango.

Y'all...this is a perfectly poached egg, wrapped in breadcrumbs, and placed in a corn soup. It is one of the most wonderful things I have ever eaten! Sigh...

Slightly poached salmon with wasabi and seafood bisque.

Chicken with crab cakes and hollandaise sauce.

Hazelnut creme with hazelnut ice cream.

A crystal Chef Remy welcomes guests.

Chef Remy can be seen in the wine room mirror.

Several Remys in the fabric of our chairs.

Truly a beautiful dinning experience!!!

Of course we can't leave out Castaway Cay (pronounces Key), Disney's private island in the Bahamas. 

We have cruised with Disney before, this is only the second time we have been to this island when it was sunny. It was a bit windy this particular day, but My Stars- it was beautiful!

While on the island, we were provided a BBQ lunch. I opted for many of the fresh salads and piece of grilled Mahi.

On our last night, we returned to Ooh La La, the ship's French-inspired Champagne Bar.

The Elderbubble (drink on the right) is a delicious choice.

I've gotta be honest...it is somewhat difficult to readjust now that we are home. After 7 days of rest and relaxation, its back to cooking dinner and making my own bed again! Haha!

Well- as Mickey says: See ya Real Soon Disney Fantasy!

 La Bonne Vie Y'all!